Prudent economic planning will ensure that your company doesn’t strike out.

With the Superbowl behind us and the baseball season still weeks away, I’ve had more than enough time to listen to the rest of the news, as unpleasant as it has been. During one of these economic reports, it dawned on me that we are in the middle of what could be the longest season of them all – the corporate bailout season!

The bailout season started innocently enough about a year ago, when the government, via the Federal Reserve and Treasury Departments, saved one poorly managed bank.

Soon after, however, other banks needed to be bailed out, all with similar, if not worse problems, which led to the entire financial industry receiving a massive bailout. Following quickly on the heals of the financial industry came the Big Three in the U.S. auto industry. At this point, it struck me that corporate bailouts were more like sporting events and less like rational business or economics dealings. We have companies whose management has made unwise – if not really dumb – decisions resulting in massive layoffs, vaporizing shareholder value and severely damaging the global economy, while those responsible have been paid more than handsomely, as if it were a sport and not hard business.

For years, I have had conversations and meetings with colleagues in the electronics industry regarding the problems we manage on a day-by-day basis. Those in the industry understand the challenges, risks, rewards and tough mindedness required to succeed year after year. Equally, I have listened to industry experts – many from the same financial companies who are now either bailed out or defunct – telling me how badly we run our industry.

Those of us in the trenches of design, manufacturing and raw material supply fully understand that ours is an industry that is capital intense; we require skilled employees, and we need to be nimble to satisfy our fickle customers’ needs, as we are build-to-print companies with no secondary product lines. We understand that, as players in this industry, we need to be aware of what we commit to produce and the need for continuous process control. Also, we need to be aware of costs, especially during a down economy. For most industries, including ours, this attention to the details is what separates corporate bottom line performance from mere recreational sport. If the financial pundits, who were quick to say how under capitalized our industry is, had followed the operating basics of our industry, they might be in a very different and far better situation than they currently are.

Then I think about my little company and the hardships we too have experienced. Day in and day out, we deal with tight cash flow and struggle to find adequate financing at competitive rates. We occasionally make errors, client- and price-wise. So then, don’t we too deserve to get a piece of the bailout money handed out in Washington?

Then I think what I would do if I received part of the bailout. Maybe I would invest in the equipment and talent necessary to expand capability to satisfy more customers, which might actually result in my hiring more people. Or I could acquire capital equipment that would help, but is just slightly out of reach of my financial situation. I can tell you what I would NOT do with any bailout money – I would NOT fly first class – even to pick up the check. I would NOT take all my employees and spouses on a company “junket” (ok, well, maybe I would have a catered lunch to say thanks – but a strict $10.00 per head cap!) and most of all, I would NOT come back for a second bite at the proverbial bailout apple!

So why can’t I get some of that bailout money? My case is as good (or bad) as the big guys. I even pay my taxes every year – in full and on time. And I, like most in our industry, have been quietly suffering for many years.

The reality is this is not a game, it’s the real world of business and, unfortunately, the truth is that we will never be included in such a boondoggle as the government bailout. I regrettably admit that we, either as individual companies or the collective industry, have not screwed up enough to deserve a bailout. In fact, we have diligently managed our capital-intense, low- margin, technologically challenged and service-demanding businesses far better than even those who have for years questioned our very viability!

For decades, our industry has known how to hunker down and avoid the temptation to over indulge. By hunkering down, we, as an industry, have been able to successfully stay focused on providing quality service, advancing technology while remaining undercapitalized and earning relatively small margins. We can be proud that ours is an industry, not a game.

Those companies and industries that understand and practice the true meaning of hunkering down rarely end up in such an economic state that qualifies for any bailout. Companies that don’t understand business basics will, from time to time, end up needing to take hat in hand and grovel for a hand out, hoping for another day to play at what they consider to be more game than work.

Which, I guess, doesn’t mean that we can’t ask to be included in the current bailout – just don’t expect too much; we’re better than that! PCD&F

Peter Bigelow is president and CEO of IMI (www.imipcb.com); This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..